


Resolutions

by curlsandcrown



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Resolutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 00:11:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13224126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curlsandcrown/pseuds/curlsandcrown
Summary: Jughead and Betty try to rekindle their friendship before the new year.





	Resolutions

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: ‘here. you can have the rest.’

Jughead missed Betty. It was the dumbest thing he could have ever done to let her go, but he was afraid of the path she was wanting to go down for him. No, more than that, he was terrified of what he was becoming. Betty Cooper deserved better than that.

They tried to fall back into a friendship along with Veronica and Archie, whose relationship issues seemed to be resolved within the blink of an eye, but it just wasn’t the same. He could see the pain in Betty’s eyes every time she looked at him, the way her fingers curled into her palms occasionally, and the heavier than usual makeup underneath her eyes. Between the Serpents and this heartbreak, he wasn’t getting much sleep either. And it had barely been two weeks.

As New Year’s Eve approached, Veronica was an excited mess. She was constantly talking about the party she was having at the Pembrooke and that she only wanted her best friends to be there.

“No repeats of the Nick St. Clair situation,” she said as she typed on her phone, eyes flicking up at Jughead from across the booth at Pop’s. “Betty will be there.”

Jughead studied the basket of fries in front of him before returning his gaze to Veronica.

“Veronica, how many times do I have to tell you that we’re just friends?”

The eye roll from Veronica was massive. It would have brought a smile to his lips under other circumstances.

“Oh, please. You’re friends just like Archie and I tried to be until we stopped pretending.” Her words, although true, still stung. Putting her phone down on the table, she looked at him. “Look, you’re both hurting and I hate seeing you like this.”

He sighed and asked, “How is she?”

“The break from school has been good for her, but I know she misses you.”

Veronica was just being honest, blunt and obvious about her wanting the two of them to make up and get back together, but he frankly didn’t want to hear it. It was hard enough with his heart wanting the same thing.

“I’ll come to your party, but please don’t do anything with Betty and me.” The words came out harsher than he meant, but Veronica just arched an eyebrow and nodded.

“I promise,” Veronica started before picking her phone back up and sliding out of the booth. “8 o’clock on New Year’s Eve. Be there or I’ll come find you.”

The smile on her face said playful but the look in her eyes was completely serious. With a nod, he dove back into his fries as the sound of Veronica’s heels clicked on the floor as she made her way to the door.

* * *

 

In true Veronica Lodge fashion, the apartment she shared with her parents was decorated as if it was the end of the world and not the end of the year. Even though there weren’t that many people there - Veronica herself, Jughead, Archie, Betty, Josie, Kevin, Valerie, Melody, Reggie, and Cheryl - she had obviously put a lot of work into making it the perfect night for the group.

The music playing in the apartment was low, just enough to know what the song was but not enough that it was difficult to carry a conversation because of it. It really was nice, even Jughead had to admit that.

But he was more focused on Betty than anything else.

She looked gorgeous as always in her outfit, pale pink tulle skirt with a sequined top. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen her in before not counting her get up at the Whyte Worm. If he had to wager a guess, he’d say that Veronica had helped her pick it out. And, judging by the way she was pulling the top down constantly, he was sure he was correct.

He hadn’t been there long, and yes he had come late. And, yes, he had about 20 texts from Veronica on his phone to prove it. But before he knew what was happening, Archie was striding over with a huge grin on his face.

“Jughead!” He shouted, throwing an arm over his shoulders. Archie wasn’t even drunk; he was just that happy. “We’re going to have a great new year. My dad is home, your dad is home. We’re gonna be good.”

Archie’s enthusiasm had always been contagious, and he was right. They were both extremely lucky that their dads were home. As he smiled at his best friend, he felt a tugging at his heart. Yeah, they were going to be good, but while Archie had Veronica and they were doing really well, he had lost Betty.

“Have you talked to Betty?” Archie whispered like he was reading his mind. Jughead shook his head in response. “Go talk to her, okay? You don’t want to have this tension in the new year.”

Without another word, Archie pulled his arm from Jughead’s shoulders and pushed him gently. Then he walked back over to Veronica, settling down on the loveseat and pulling her into his lap. Her laugh rang out throughout the apartment and Jughead pulled his eyes away, glancing over at Betty to find her looking at him.

He waved awkwardly and took a deep breath as he made his way over to her.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Jug.” Betty smiled softly. “Happy New Year.”

“This party is - it’s very big.”

“It’s big, just like Veronica’s heart.” Betty laughed softly and looked into the glass she was holding before returning her eyes to him. “This is her way of showing us she loves us.”

That was something he had learned about Veronica recently. She might have difficulties telling people she loved them, but she didn’t have trouble showing it. And that was something he could learn from her. Archie’s words rang in his head. You don’t want to have this tension in the new year.

“I know things have been hard lately, Betts, but I want to go into the new year being better friends than we are right now.”

Her eyes flickered, from uneasy to surprise, and the awkward smile on her lips grew into a more genuine one.

“I would like that, too, Jug.”

* * *

 

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

Cheers erupted around the expansive room. There were New Year’s kisses being planted on everyone, Veronica and Archie, Josie and Reggie, Melody and Valerie pecked each other on the cheeks, before Cheryl stepped up to Josie and Reggie, pushing the boy out of the way to press her own kiss to the corner of Josie’s lips. Then she turned to Kevin and the two kissed gently. The only two not involved in the tradition were Betty and Jughead and it was awkward, to say the least.

Pulling at his collar, he was close to bending down and asking if he could kiss her because he knew she felt out of place, before Kevin was dancing over. The boy wrapped his arms around Betty and dipped her playfully, plopping a wet kiss on her forehead. The resounding laugh she let out caused a smile to come to Jughead’s lips and Kevin looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

“You have to kiss someone, too, Jughead,” he said, signaling for Veronica to come over.

“No, it’s okay.” He shook his head and Veronica smirked, eyes a little glassy from the champagne she had been drinking.

“Come on! Even if it’s just a peck on the cheek.”

Betty looked uncomfortable but she was still smiling as she nodded, glancing at Veronica. Then the girls were both coming toward him and his eyes widened. Before he could protest anymore, they were pressing their lips to his cheeks. Betty’s kiss lasted longer than Veronica’s. When they pulled back, Veronica immediately went back to Archie and Betty was blushing as she looked up at him. Kevin had already walked off and, as the music was turned up, it was like he could only see Betty.

“Happy New Year, Jug.”

“Happy New Year, Betts.”

* * *

 

As usual, he ended up at Pop’s the next day to have breakfast. It was an unspoken tradition that he had come up with for himself, but this year it was different. He felt lighter than he had in a long time and, after his dad left the booth to start his shift, Jughead took out his laptop so he could work on his book.

The words seemed to flow out of him as he wrote about the New Year and all that a clean start could offer someone. He must have sat there writing for hours.

The bell over the door dinged, signaling that someone was coming into the diner, and he lifted his head to see who it was.

Betty.

When she saw him, she smiled widely and after a moment of hesitation she made her way over to his table.

“Can I sit?” She asked, sliding into the booth when he nodded.

It was the first time in the last couple of weeks that he’d seen her without much makeup on. It looked like she was feeling lighter too.

“Are you writing?”

“Yeah, and I think I’m really getting somewhere.”

Betty grabbed the extra menu off of the table and looked it over before her eyes focused on him.

“That’s great. I’ve been thinking about The Blue & Gold a lot lately. This year is going to be a big one for it.”

And just like that, they fell into a comfortable conversation about their official and unofficial resolutions (his being the unofficial ones). They ended up sitting there and talking until lunchtime, so they ordered new meals and ate together.

He finished his milkshake before her and he pushed the basket of fries over to her.

“Here. You can have the rest.”  

She laughed softly to herself and he grinned before focusing on his laptop screen.

Before the party, he wasn’t that hopeful for his friendship with Betty. Now, he knew that she needed to be in his life in one way or another. They both needed each other if the sparkle in her eyes was any indication. His biggest resolution was being a better friend to the girl he would forever love.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year! Written by R. Thanks for all of the support with our fics the last few months. We have several things in works, so we’ll be back in 2018!
> 
> J + R


End file.
